A few days later and it was finally time for the party. Over the past two days things have been... better. Alfred was getting frustrated with himself since his body isn't used to working under harsh conditions. We tried to get him to rest, but he insisted on making his cosplay. But I haven't caught him throwing up at night. That should be a good sign.

We went Trick-or-Treating for a while but it got too cold to stay out. So, I ended up passing out candy to people who came to our door. I gathered many compliments about my Tardis dress earlier. I say earlier because this party starts late into the night.

"Gil's here!" Mattie perked as the doorbell chimed, derailing my train of thought.

He jumped up from the couch and flung open the door. Before Gil could say anything, Mattie wrapped him up in his love.

"Voah, voah! Can I come in first?" Gil teased.

"Sorry, I'm just excited," Mattie sheepishly replied.

Mattie made sure to close and lock the door as he let Gil inside. It was getting a little chilly outside. By now Gil should be used to this kind of winter, England isn't as intense as Canada is when it comes to Fall/Winter.

From my spot on the couch I could see Mattie steal a kiss from Gil. He was caught off guard but quickly straightened up to deepen the kiss. They remained intertwined in the middle of the living room, totally forgetting that I was there.

"I knew jou could pull zhat off. Zhe awesome me strikes again!" The Prussian grinned.

"Thanks Gil, I wasn't sure if I looked okay..." Mattie hesitantly revealed as they swayed side to side.

"Jou look awesome! Not to mention adorable, mein Birdie," he tickled his sides.

"Gil, stop~ Papa's upstairs," Mattie giggled. "You look awesome yourself, you and Soul kind of resemble each other. Soul with his Coolness and you with your Awesomeness."

Mattie's cosplay consisted of a yellow sweater vest, a green striped tie, red plaid pants, black boots with white buckles, white gloves, and a black trench coat with a cloak-like end. He decided to keep his hair the way it was.

On the couch beside me was a red and black zig-zag pattern scythe. The joint connecting the blade to the shaft had a red and black circle upon it that resembled an eye. Below the eye was a collar of black and white triangles. I know it was a prop, but it would be awesome to see Mattie fight with this.

Gil's cosplay consisted of a yellow and black jacket with buttons going down the front, a tan sweatband that had a blue and black sticker with Soul's name on it, a circular button with a red-lipped mouth bearing pointed fangs, (Surrounding it was the letters "E-A-T") a pair of maroon pants, and yellow and black sneakers with a pattern that resembled teeth on the soles. His hair was perfect for his cosplay, but he must have used hair gel to get the spiky effect.

"I missed you..." Their heads rested upon each other.

"I missed jou more..."

"Get a room you two!" I just had to stop the hearts from spreading like a virus. It's Halloween, not Valentines Day!

They separated once I made my presence clear. Gil kept a cheeky grin while Mattie grew a sheepish expression.

"Did you eat some halloween candy?" Mattie inquired from my hyped up state.

"No~" I slid various candy wrappers behind my back.

"Did you at least save me a MilkyWay?"

"Yes~" I held out the fun-sized bar to him.

"How much candy have you eaten?" He retrieved the candy wrappers that I tried to hide.

"I dunno, b-but I know th-that someone ate a-all the Snickers b-bars!"

He froze, "Mon dieu, Papa loves those! You ate all of them?!"

"I never said that!" I protested.

"We have to get a new bag before he notices..."

"Zhe awesome me hears someone coming."

"Shit-- I mean, crap! What am I going to do?" Mattie was confuzzled.

"I got 'chu boo," Gil nonchalantly retrieved a loaded bag of Snickers from nowhere and placed them in Mattie's hands.

"Where... did you get these?" He was super confuzzled at this point. I could see him failing to connect the dots.

"Zhe awesome me knows my best friend's favorite candy!"

Mattie clicked, "Did you just... call me 'boo'?"

"Maybe~" Gil chimed as Papa strolled down the stairs.

"I thought I 'eard your voice, Gilbert," Papa grinned.

After Papa playfully greeted Gil, and after Mattie nervously placed the candy bag in Papa's hands, I took this open opportunity to tackle Gil. Since I was in my Chibi form, that didn't go as planed. It ended up being more like an attachment to his leg.

"How have jou been, Little Birdie?" He tussled my hair.

"Awesome!" I replied.

"More awesome zhan me?"

"Hmm, p-probably not," I giggled.

Papa was... Ah... He looked like a magical girl. A very bright magical girl. There were pale pink bows tied in his hair, a hot pink and pale pink dress was the main part, a matching pale pink bow draped around his waist, hot pink gloves fitted his hands, and hot pink boots with pale pink bows were slipped on his feet.

All this pink is blinding me.

For props, he had a pink megaphone and a sheet of paper. I was very confused as to who or what he was supposed to be... but at least he had pride in it.

Gil was snickering from Papa's costume choice and Mattie was embarrassed. I stood like a deer in the headlights.

"Who are jou, Sailor Moon?" Gil teased.

"Mega Fairy Magical On-Strike France-Chan! Or Magical Strike, for short," he introduced with a Sailor Moon pose at the end.

"Not this again, Papa," Mattie scolded.

"You can't stop my dreams of going on strike, Matthieu!" He's acting like a child.

Gil turned to me as the two blondes conversed in French, "Jou're zhe Tardis?"

"How'd you know?!" Daddy got me into Doctor Who these past two days.

"Ve vatched a lot of Netflix on our last date. It's a pretty interesting show," he stated casually.

The whole room fell silent as an otherworldly aura entered the room. The British man I once knew was dressed like a true gentleman. He wore a navy blue suit with a purple tie, a white shirt underneath, red and white converse shoes, and a light brown trench coat. He also wore a dark brown wig and had brown contacts in his eyes.

"Why is everyone so quiet all of a sudden?" He asked once he reached the bottom of the stairs.

"You look so amazing, Angleterre!" Papa was swooning over him.

"I wanted to go all out this year since I can finally be the Doctor!" he was super excited as he tested out his sonic screwdriver.

I twirled around in my Tardis dress as Gil noticed someone else coming down the stairs. It was Alfred, all dressed up in his Captain America costume. His handmade shield was carefully crafted with time and dedication. A genuine smile was spread across his face. I'm really happy to see that.

"What are we standing around here for? Let's get this party started!" He announced, totally ignoring Gil.

~ Party Time! ~

So many countries are here! I ended up meeting a lot of new countries too. Well, not new because they've been around for a while. I met the ones that I haven't met before... that sounds correct, right?

Alfred invited a DJ to get the party started. Streamers, paper bats, strobe lights, and a smoke machine created a spooky atmosphere. The conference room was once a place for meetings, now it was a place for partying. Seychelles, who was dressed as a pirate, was in charge of the cosplay submissions. Alfred would later announce the voting rules when the time comes.

Anyway, I made a rendezvous with a trio of Micronations around the snack table. They were Sealand, Wy, and Seborga. Seborga turns out to be Feli's younger brother, Sealand turns out to be my dad's younger brother, and Wy was Australia's younger sister. Seborga also told me that he had another older brother, Romano, who wasn't as friendly as himself and Feliciano. He called him kind of a grump.

Sealand was dressed as a Pokémon Trainer, Wy was Little Bo Peep, and Seborga was dressed as a waiter. The three of them played some tricks on the other countries. However, they ended up getting scared in the "haunted" hallway.

"Don't cling onto me, you Pedo!" Wy said to Seborga while passing through the "haunted" hallway.

"But the buddy system, Wy! The buddy system!" Seborga frantically spat.

"Don't forget about me, you guys!" Sealand cried.

Their relationship sounds so familiar... I wonder who that reminds me of? Hehe~

The rest of the countries came fully dressed either as a duo or an individual. Kiku-san and Heracles came as a duo; Kiku-san being Amaterasu and Heracles being Issun. (I think they're from a game called Ōkami) Feliciano was Little Red Riding Hood and Ludwig was the Big Bad Wolf; Miss Hungary was a white prince while Mr. Austria was a Princess in a purple dress; and Ivan was the king of hearts while Yao was a Chinese Zombie.

I also remember seeing Belarus as Jeff the Killer, Ukraine was a sexy rabbit, and the baltic trio were all different animals. Meeting Feliks that night was eventful, we ended up talking about ponies as time passed. I could tell that he was a bit shy when he first met me. But after Lithuania mentioned that I liked MLP, he opened right up.

Feli later introduced me to Romano (aka Lovino) and Spain (aka Antonio.) Lovino was a werewolf and Antonio was a vampire. I wasn't quite sure if they were together, Lovino would push Antonio away every time he got close to him. Even Later, I ended up running from country to country to spend some time with them. Plus I missed some more than others...

"Ivan~!" I wrapped myself around his leg.

"Little Flower, I'm glad to see that you're doing well," he swiftly lifted me into his arms.

"Same f-for you," I adjusted the lantern on my head.

The passing countries were surprised to see him being so friendly. Let alone the fact that he wasn't accidentally crushing me with his uncontrollable strength. We chatted for a while until I journeyed to the next awaiting country. I mostly kept that rhythm until food starting calling for me. Food is the priority above all.

~ Into the evening ~

"Kip kip, Mudkip!"

"Vapor? Vaporeon!"

Two familiar voices echoed from the hall. No one else seemed to notice them but me. The faint scent of sea salt soon filled in the air. My person followed the scent all the way upstairs as I caught a glimpse of Vaporeon's twin tail. The vibrations of the party could be heard through the floor, soothing my anticipation.

I knew who was waiting for me.

The door on the right was open, the two Pokémon ran in, I followed. Cody was standing there all dressed up in his Halloween costume. He was Kaito, the vocaloid, he even turned his hair a deeper shade of blue. His open arms signaled for my warmth. My body changed into my Teenage Form before succumbing to his embrace.

"We've got to stop meeting like this," he said.

"You mean, in secret?" I inquired.

"Yeah..." his voice trailed off in the booming music.

He pecked my forehead as our companions chased each other around the room.

"Have you been taking good care of Shaymin?"

"Not as much as I would like. Alfred has heen my number one priority these past few days. Not to mention the preparation for the party. I wish I could spend more time with it... along with you," I admitted.

He flickered a soft smile, "I knew you'd open up to me soon. You look fantastic in that dress, by the way."

"Really? My dad made it. I can't believe how good he is at needle work," I giggled.

His misty grey eyes broke our gaze, searching for words unknown.

"Olivine..." he whispered, "Are we... okay?"

I paused to take in his sudden change of emotions, "What do you mean?"

He sat down in the red velvet couch and signaled me to follow him.

"You know how I feel about you, right?" He cupped my face.

"Yeah, you love me..." I answered.

"Do you understand what kind of love I have for you?" His question lingered in the air for the longest time.

I couldn't answer.

He slipped his hands over mine, "I don't ever want you to feel vulnerable, but, I want you to be mine. Even after all this time that we've been apart... my feelings for you never wavered. I just... I need you..."

"Cody... are you wondering how I feel about you?"

"Of course I am!" He jumped, "Sorry... I..."

"Cody..." I slipped my arms around his neck to embrace him.

"You're sending me mixed signals, Olivine," he sighed.

"That's my fault. There's been so much going on that I haven't been focusing on what's important," I looked to him. "Cody, I like you a lot. I really do. You don't have to worry about that."

"I do have to worry if I want to advance our relationship. There are things that I want to do to-- with you, and you'd have to be okay with them. I want... I want you to be my girlfriend," his face was so red after he finished.

"G-Girlfriend? You... you want me?" I stuttered.

"In sexual and non-sexual ways," he confirmed.

A silence passed as I took this all in.

"Cody... I can't even stay in my Teenage Form as long as you can. There's still things that I don't know about myself, I don't know what I represent. I can't... settle down just yet."

His face fell. My heart shattered to see him in this way.

"You could have just told me that you didn't want a relationship," he sighed.

He leaped off the couch, causing Mudkip and Vaporeon to follow. Shaymin, who finally decided to join the party, cried from the sight of Cody leaving.

"Please don't leave me!" I held him back from behind. "After all we've been through, don't--"

The sound of a smooth piano played from beneath us.

"Someday when I'm awfully low..."

"When the world is cold..."

"I will feel a glow just thinking of you"

"...and the way you look tonight"

The only sound was the booming music beneath us. Our companions were silent, we were silent, our thoughts were cleared.

"Olivine..." he shifted to embrace me, "I would never abandon you. I just want to be with you... forever. That's all I want."

His sea salt scent controlled my overactive emotions. I breathed into his coat as we unconsciously swayed to the music. The calming beat brought me back to a simpler time.

"Heh, do you remember when we would dance like this?" He nuzzled into my hair, avoiding the lantern on my head.

"At 2am in our underwear? How could I forget!" I giggled.

"I used to sing this song to you when you were younger. Well, you're still pretty young."

"You're only about a year older than me!" I protested.

"In human years. I'm actually a lot older than you. A lot older," he rested his chin upon my head.

"Pedo," I pecked his soft lips.

"I can do better than that," he pulled me in to deepen the kiss.

The sensation sent tingles down my spine. His hands massaged my sides as we tried to be as close as we could to each other. His lips curled up into a smile as I ran my fingers through his hair.

"Lovely...

"Never, ever change"

"Keep that breathless charm"

"Won't you please arrange it"

"Cause I, I love you"

"Just the way you look tonight"

"Just the way you look tonight..."

We shared a timeless glance when we finally parted. Our companions tried to hide the fact that our little session was making them uncomfortable. Cody and I... we're going to be just fine.

"I love you," he said.

"I want to be your girlfriend," the words slipped from my lips.

~mini time skip ~

"Alright dudes and dudettes! The votes are in and it's time to announce the winners!" Alfred announced on stage with a microphone in his hand. All the countries were gathered around the stage, waiting for their names to be called.

As he was explaining the rules, The Doctor, (he told me to call him that) leaned down and whispered to me, "I'm glad that you and Cody could make up."

I froze from his remark, "H-How did you kn-know about that?

"Who do you think requested that song?" He smirked, resetting his emotions to focus on Alfred.

My face was so red that I couldn't feel it. Luckily, I had to shift back into my Chibi Form. My expression wasn't obvious to the others around me... thank goodness.

"Alright, let's get started!" He paused as he retrieved the envelope from Seychelles, "The winners for the Best Dressed Group are~ THE NORDIC FIVE!"

Iceland, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, and Finland walked on the stage in their Ghost Pirate costumes. Denmark was totally ecstatic while Finland was all smiles (which was a little creepy). The rest of them were emotionless but they accepted the award respectively.

The audience applauded as they received their trophy. They cleared the stage for the next winner to claim their prize. I could still smell the faint scent of sea salt dancing through the air. Through the crowd I couldn't pinpoint Cody's presence. Although, I have a feeling that I'll be seeing him again soon.

*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*

Happy (late) Birthday Russia! (December 30th)

I'm uber sorry that I didn't update for like... two weeks? One week? A month? For however long! Winter break, K-Drama, and another fanfic project happened.

Remember to Comment & Vote my Luckies!

BAI~! ☆〜（ゝ。∂）